Just a Friend
by JCVwriting
Summary: Pucca is new here. But even the first second she stepped in this school, the teasing commenced. All she wanted was a friend. A friend who could be there for her...A friend she could trust... Now, she thinks she found the right guy...but she's so head-on in making a best friend, she ends up getting more than that, and makes some enemies along the way...
1. Just a Friend

**Hello once again! My writer's block decided to give me a chance and let me create this story and everything! Remember, I'm just a little kid so don't freakin' expect it to be really good. Also, notice that I keep saying 'she'. Yeah. Sorry about that. Also, review and tell me what you think! **

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Pucca sighed. New town. Or village. Which means new school, new people, new places, and hopefully new friends.  
She stood, admiring the tall brick building before her which was her new high school, Sooga High, as everyone called it. She watched as young adults poured in and out of the twin set of double doors on the school.  
So many strange faces...so much to learn. Her hair was tied in two childish buns and she wore her dark blue collared uniform over her red long sleeve dress. She had shiny black flats on and black knee socks. She got a few weird looks and scoffs but shrugged it off. She slowly and carefully stepped up the stairs to the clear doors, cluching the cold, silver railing with one hand as if she might fall off a cliff. She reached the doors, which seemed like a year to accomplish, and cautiously opened one of the double doors. She had to get to the school's office for her schedule. Where was the office anyway? She was too shy to ask anyone so she walked down the bustling halls, which was like a stream, except it was rushing in all directions possible. She looked at the doors to her left, principle's...vice's...counselor's... She pivoted her head to the right and found double doors printed "MAIN OFFICE".

She rushed to the right, dodging students, but making sure she wasn't being rude. She reached the doors and pushed on them to open. Students, 10-30 of them maybe, were crowding around, seated, standing, and talking to the clerks at the main desk. She stood in line, annoyed that the student at the front was just chatting about useless, random things. "How was your day? Yeah the teacher in that class is kinda cool. What's for lunch? Oh, man. That sucks."  
Pucca sighed in frustration. The person at the front heard her and told the clerk "he had to go". The line moved forward a little and it moved pretty quickly, as she learned that class was gonna start soon. Finally, she was at the front. She cleared her throat, making sure it wouldn't be hoarse when she spoke; how embarrassing would that be? A lot.

"Hi. Umm..I'm new here and I need a-um schedule. Like the specific classes I have to go to." The clerk was a friendly woman, probably in her 30's, with shining brown hair and light skin with some wrinkles from her age and what she has to go through everyday.  
"Sure, first and last name, please?"  
"Pucca Che-Jeong." She nodded, "Alright, let me look it up and I'll print one up for you."  
The woman typed her name and clicked a few times. "Ah, there you are."  
She clicked two times and a printer sounded; choppy, and electrical.  
The printer was under the desk and she pulled a piece of blue paper from the dark machine with Pucca's schedule.  
She handed it to her, "Here you go, hurry up now, you might be late. 3 more minutes."  
Pucca looked at the schedule and pushed open the door. H143...  
Where is the H wing? Students sauntered past her, knowing the whole school from end to end. She just stood there, like a dumbo. She whimpered a little and set off into the river of kids, tightly gripping her paper so that she doesn't drop it. A worker at the school stood in the middle of the hall, just standing there. Surveying every student's faces, observing the 'traffic'. His dark blue uniform read "Security" in orange. He should know this place well.  
She approached him and he looked down at her, "Excuse me, uh can you show me where *checks paper* H143 is? I'm new here.."

He smiled a bit, "Well, It'd be easier if I led you there, is that okay?" She smiled and nodded.  
He led her to an option of left and right and led her to the left and on the side of the wall read "H WING" followed by classrooms and students casually entering them. She read the numbers of the rooms and could tell that they were close to the room she was supposed to go to. The security man stepped to the left side of the corridor so that he wouldn't block everyone. He gestured his hand to the door, "This is H143.. From where we started, go to the left and you should see this class on the left side just like right now." He smiled, "Don't be afraid to ask any one of the other security." He gave her a pat on the back and she reached for the silver knob. She latched her hand onto it and carefully twisted it. A quick "click" and she pushes the door open. About half the class arrived already and were talking about life and just acting like immature teenagers. They ARE immature teenagers.  
Pucca got some glances and some of the girls whispered to one another when they saw her pass by. She decided to sit at the very end, hopefully no one already sat there...  
She pulled out the chair and set her pink backpack to the side. After a few moments of being alone in a class full of students, she heard the click of the door and could tell it was the teacher.  
She sat straight up, with amazing posture. The teacher came rushing in with her bags and papers and immediately, the students sat back down, not wanting to get yelled at or get in detention for being downright stupid and for having inappropriate behavior.

She set her supplies down in their desired place and she sat down on her leather chair. She put a loose brown lock of hair behind her ear and sighed in profession, "Good morning, class."  
The class slurred back a reply to the teacher they called Mrs. Cho-yin.  
A handfull of students were able to speak korean, but the school mostly resorted to english because there were a lot of foreigners who didn't speak the country's native language.  
Pucca looked at all the students. Not much of them sat in the back row.  
Mrs. Cho-yin scanned the classroom and noticed a new face.  
"Looks like we have a new student in our class." She stood up and walked slowly towards her.  
"You must be Pucca. Stand up and introduce yourself, please." She gestured her hand up to show a stand-up motion.  
Pucca's heart started to pump in nervousness as she registered what she was supposed to do. Slowly, she slid out of her chair and glanced at all the staring eyes that were on her.  
"Umm, I'm Pucca Che-jeong. I came here from North Korea to live with my uncles." Her legs trembled like jello and she sat back down.

The students started whispering to each other some more and some giggled.  
Pucca clasped her hands together under her desk and slouched.  
"Thank you, Pucca." She started walking back to her desk in front of the classroom. As Pucca analyzed the faces. She couldn't stop staring at his face. One certain raven haired guy... She felt something... But she shrugged it off, he probably wouldn't want to be her friend.

It was time for lunch. At recess, she just sat in the silent library. Alone. Getting weird glances and murmurs.  
She sighed. The tables were set in long rows and she chose the last table, where little to no people sat. She picked at her rice with the plastic fork, leaning her cheek on her fist. The lonely girl thought to herself, 'I hate this place. I just don't want to be alone...'  
The more she thought, the more upset she got. She felt a frown tugging at the sides of her mouth and her eyes started to well up with hot tears.  
She buried her face in her hands. 'Stupid classes. Stupid school. Stupid life.'  
The girl sniffled and picked up her napkin to wipe her face.  
She sat there, calming herself down. Nobody noticing because she was alone. After collecting herself together, she stood up and grabbed her styrafoam tray. Nothing was eaten from her plate. The only thing that was eaten was her heart. Loneliness ate at her insides and she could feel herself crumbling down. Despite what she felt, Pucca stood strong...or at least tried to. Nobody should know how she felt. She didn't want anyone to see her like this, dying on the inside.

"I hate this dumb school." Pucca muttered under her breath as she fast walked her way through the long corridors. She had no idea where...F101 was. Let alone the F wing itself. Where was the security guy? She read on the classroom's number plate and found out that she was in the E wing. She should be close to the F area...  
Oh, look! A security guy! Pucca walked faster to the unfamiliar man and he walked towards her to close the distance she had to walk.  
She panted, "Can you lead me to F101, please? I'm new here and this school is just so big..."  
He nodded, "Sure. We'd better hurry. You're already late."

Pucca sighed as she walked home in the heat of the sun. She walked down the main road, which she memorized so that she wouldn't get lost. "I don't want to go to school again..." Pucca whined under her breath.  
Trudging like a zombie on the road, she stared at the ground. The poor girl was drowning into her fantasy world with her imaginary friend, Ching. She imagined her with dark braids, a purple dress, and she always thought a chicken on her head would top it all off.

'Hey, Ching.'

'Hey, Pucca!' Ching replied in her cheery voice. 'How was school?"

'Horrible. I hated it. I don't want to go back.' Pucca mentally replied to Ching.

'Don't worry, Pucca... Umm... You could be homeschooled a-and no one would be able to tease you or anything. AND you could eat your uncles' DELICIOUS noodles for lunch now instead of what they give you at school!' Ching clasped her hands in contentment at her point.

'But...I need some friends. Real friends... You're my real friend but I need one that everyone can see and someone who could physically be there. Sorry.'

'It's okay. I understand.'

Pucca glanced up to see that giant red building, known widely as the Goh-Rong; the best noodle house IN THE UNIVERSE. Pucca groaned to herself quietly, "It's soo freakin' hot!"  
She paced faster as the restaurant came nearer, eager to head inside and collapse on her bed.

She trudged up the concrete stairs outside and leaned her side on the giant red doors.  
Slowly pushing the doors open, she stepped in to see the restaurant FILLED with people, mostly because of students from the schools.  
She found her clumsy co-worker, Dada, swerving his way from table to table, receiving plates as lots of people demanded for THEIR food.

Pucca sighed. 'Guess I better go help him'

She quickly rested her backpack into her room and ran into the kitchen. She could feel many eyes following her and voices having conversations about that weird girl with the childish hair.  
That same weird girl pushed open the white kitchen doors, desperate to escape everyone's intense stares. Her uncles were busy going through their rituals of making their famous, mouth-watering black noodles. The kitchen smelled delightful with the aromas of garlic, onions, vegetables, and cooked meat. It was filled with the sounds of chopping, wood and metal clanking, and sizzles. The room was humid and the chefs were sweating...a lot. Imagine being in here all day, constantly doing the same tiring workout without rest and demanding customers.

Pucca rushed over to the fresh set of steaming noodles and stacked them to hold with both her hands and on her head. She was still surprised at the amazing balance she had and how well she could handle the heat of the noodles on her skin. She carefully opened the kitchen doors and people stared in awe at how talented she was. She peeked at the dishes, each bowl had a table number printed on it. Table one, right ahead of her.  
She took a step and glanced up at the person waiting for the food. Him. That guy..the one in her class. 'I just HAVE to get his name...' Pucca impatiently thought, lightly biting her lower lip.  
She walked over to his table and smiled at the young man, then grabbed the bowl to set it down in front of him.

The girl's heart raced at top speed as she walked on her heavy, noodley legs to the last table...that was last for now.

'Finally, done...' Pucca slumped down at a vacant table, panting.  
She let her eyes rest and propped her elbows on the red clothed table. Like a bolt of lightening, rememberence struck her. 'I need to ask his name!'  
She looked at table one, and she relaxed. 'Good, he's still there...I'm a fast waitress...'

She sighed and lifted herself up and off the chair. Gathering up her courage and confidence, Pucca casually walked to his table. Her heart started to punch at her chest again.  
"Hi." She managed to sputter out.  
The student wore his uniform over a black long sleeve. His hair was a shining raven-black color and his semi-long hair layered in a sideways-upward direction. She didn't really think about his looks, though he was actually kind of cute, but something about him...'spoke' to her.

He looked up and swallowed his food. "Hey. Pucca, right? I'm Garu."

'Thinkfastthinkfast!'

The nervous girl eagerly nodded her head. "Wanna hang out later?" She twidled her thumbs. "If you want to, I mean." She added quickly.

"Well, if it isn't like a date or anything. My girlfriend would be 'crazy' jealous." He looked around the restaurant to make sure she didn't see him talking to the new girl.

"Oh, no! Not at all!" Pucca defended, shaking her hands at him, "Just as friends. You seem like a cool guy...and to be honest, I don't want to spend my whole school day alone with all this teasing...Everyone keeps staring at me and calling me weird..." She looked down. "You probably think I'm weird too..." Her voice became quiet and small.

She clasped her hands and hung them low, waiting for a reply.  
He stared into space for a moment, staring at her, leaving Pucca to feel awkward.

"Actually," he started, matter-of-factly, "I think your fashion is kinda cute. Unique, definitely." He smiled at her. "I'm free at five. What do you feel like we should do?"

And just like that, Ching popped up in her head. 'How about the movies? Not like there's anything else better to do with a guy you barely know.'

'Tsk...Okay, whatever then...' Pucca mentally replied.  
"How about a movie? Those are great for when you want to know someone a little better." She smiled warmly at him, but inside, her heart threatened to punch her chest wide open and she mentally smacked herself on the forehead.

"Alright, I'll see you then." Garu smiled at her, making her melt inside for a reason she did not understand.

The girl, _the girl _ who just practically asked a guy out is just doing it as a friend. And that's what she wants, a friend. Then why does it feel like she wants something else from him, and him only?

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**Okay! I hope you guys like this story so far and there may be some minor errors, so I'm sorry. I'll try to make the next chapter longer and maybe if I get more reviews, I'll work harder on it! Expect the next chapter in a few weeks or so. **


	2. Just a Feeling

**The second chapter came faster than I thought! Well, there may also be some errors of any kind and I apologize for that. Also, thank you Madam-Annabell for reviewing! I will recognize anyone who reviews!**

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Pucca stood at her closet, rummaging and pushing aside her clothes that hung in hangers. She stood back for a second, thinking.

'It's just the movies. It's not like a date or anything.'

Just as Ching was about to butt in, she mentally shoved her down before the bubbly girl can protest.

Pucca stepped closer to her closet to resume her search for a good outfit.

Nothing too special, but at the same time, nicer than what she usually wears. She came to a skin-tight red long sleeve that reached to her thighs. and she pulled it out of the hanger to fling it on her bed.  
Now, pants.  
She walked to her dresser and knew the right thing to grab, her black tights.  
Snatching it from it's cramped prison, she threw it onto her bed and lifted her uniform over her head to be wearing a red dress under it.

'This isn't weird. Just like Garu said, it's cute.' She smiled, remembering what he said to her. He is SO becoming her best friend!

Pucca peeled off her dress damped in sweat and sighed. 'Guess I gotta go shower.'

Pucca clasped her hands together worriedly, standing impatiently in front of a movie poster.

'What if he doesn't show? What if he doesn't want to be my friend? What if what if what if WHAT IF?!'

She lifted her phone to her face and checked the time, 5:03.

He should be here by now!

She glanced up and saw couples walking towards the ticket booth, where Santa stood inside, selling the tickets. Pucca frowned and turned her head forward.

Garu was walking, pivoting his head, trying to look for the cute 16 year old with raven black buns on her head.  
That very girl smiled and called out to him, waving.

"Garu! Over here!"

He turned his head in the direction the familiar voice came from and smiled to her.  
They closed the distance between each other, "I was so worried you wouldn't come!" Pucca stated truthfully.

Garu grinned, "Why wouldn't I have come? A ninja ALWAYS keeps his promises."

She raised both her eyebrows in suprised and gasped, "Whaaat?! You're a freakin' ninja?!"

He nodded his head in confidence.

This girl was a happy girl indeed. So happy in fact, she giggled.

"Come on, let's get our tickets and go in." She grabbed his wrist in impulse and led him to the ticket line, making the poor guy blush.

They ordered tickets to see a movie called, "Warm Bodies".  
The two figured that the movie would be pretty good from what the commercials about it showed.

What Pucca was worried about was the...sexual parts... She saw some in the trailer...and...that would be pretty awkward...

They walked in and bought a medium sized box (yes, box) of popcorn, which costed Garu a FORTUNE. Seriously, 15 dollars?  
The movie was about to start in ten minutes and they walked into the room that held the movie.

The 'couple' took seats at the left side, middle of the theater, Santa's recommendation. And for once, it was pretty good advice.

"Garu," Pucca started as they sat down, "What if your girlfriend finds you here with me?"

He sat there for a moment, thinking. "She would probably blow a fuse and try to kill you. I'm serious...she's like that."

Pucca laughed it off, "Who is she anyway?"

Garu looked down, entwining his hands together. "She's a cheerleader... Her name is RingRing."

Her eyes widened, "RingRing? Blue hair, make up, pink everything?" She asked in disbelief. "Why are you with HER? She treats me like crap!"

Garu sighed, "Yeah. She treats everyone like that. And...can you keep a secret? You seem like someone I can trust. Please, don't tell her this..."

Pucca's palms began to sweat and she looked at him more, but his head was hanging low.

"You can tell me anything. I promise, I won't tell..." She crossed her heart and he looked up at her.

"She uses me. She's just with me because all the girls seem to like me and she wants everyone to be jealous. I hate being with her. She's a total...bitch."

Pucca smiled and put her hand on his shoulder, "You just read my mind."

He chuckled, "Yeah, everyone thinks that. I just wish I could break up with her."

"What would happen if you did?'

Garu shook his head, "She said she'll spread all these fake rumors about me. All that kind of bad stuff... So I have to act like I love her and I have to like...kiss her and hold her hand. I hate it...Thank God she didn't ask for..." He buried his head in his hands and sighed, "...sex."

Pucca nodded, "Yeah, but there's a gauruntee she'll be wanting it soon..."

Garu sat up and flew his hands low in the air, "Yeah! That's what I'm worried about. I want to save myself for someone I actually love." He tried not letting people hear their conversation.

"Well...just...YOLO it! Tell the counselors to tell her parents then they'll take away her phone and internet and hopefully suspend her!" Pucca laughed nervously.

Garu breathed out a laugh, "Yeah, that's not a bad idea. The school isn't afraid to tell people out. The principle said that they believe in 'tougher love' and that the real world doesn't give chances."

Pucca nodded, "This is a pretty good school then! Maybe I'll talk to one of the counselors about...my bullies."

Garu looked at her, "I don't get why people bully you...They don't even know you or where you came from, Hell, I only know your name!"

Pucca considered what he said, he needs to know more about HERSELF if they were to be best friends.

"I came from North Korea because there was so much paranoia about the war and my parents didn't want me to get hurt, so they sent me here to live with my uncles."

He nodded once,"You're uncles are the chefs at the Goh-Rong? That's awesome! Maybe if more people knew, they'll start being nicer and ask for 'friend discounts'!"

They laughed and saw the lights dim.

"The movie is about to start!" Pucca whispered in excitement.

'That was better than I thought...' Pucca told Ching, mentally.

"Yeah! You guys really got along..." She wiggled her eyebrows at her.

'Oh, shut up!' Pucca nudged her playfully in her mind.

Pucca was currently in her room, smiling to herself while listening to her favorite songs.

She stared at the walls and forgot all about school. The time she spent with Garu was amazing! He is DEFINITELY becoming her best friend! But again, she still can't keep that thought off her mind, the one that makes her feel so weird around him. Like she wants to...no! It's just that she's too excited about a new friend. Certainly NOT something else, even though she didn't know what that 'something else' was.

Pucca trudged up the stairs to her school. More people began to notice her, but she was ready. Garu said her fashion was cute, and that people were just jealous. Hopefully people thought that.

She reached the doors and a certain blue-haired snob stepped in front of her.

"Hey, Pucca." She greeted with a sassy tone and a smirk.

Pucca scowled, "What do YOU want, RingRing?"

"Oh nothing. Just THIS." RingRing pulled her arm up and before Pucca could register what was happening, she felt a cold fist thrown at the side of her face.

Pucca stepped back, not able to gain balance and the soles of her feet reached the end of the final step. She flailed her arms and she realized what was happening, she was falling.

Everything was coming so quickly and she felt her head slam against the hard concrete ground.

She heard people gasp and footfalls. She kept her eyes open and felt something in her head snap.  
Pucca shot up, sitting on the ground now. She slowly looked up and saw RingRing up the stairs, laughing.  
She felt her face heat up and her heart quicken. Her teeth began to grind and the girl lunged herself up and straight for the stupid idiot who punched her.

There was a high pitched scream and just like that, everything stopped. Her fist was right about to punch that dumb snitch.  
Pucca felt something grab her shirt from behind. She flipped to see who it was, ready to kill. Her eyes flamed in rage.

"Pucca..." She heard a familiar voice calling calmly for her.

She looked up, and saw that face. That face that made her heart beat so quickly, that face that made her palms sweaty..Garu...

He shook his head at her, "Don't." She felt bigger hands cover her own fist, which was just centimeters away from his face. He lowered her arm and unfurled her fingers until it hung limply at her side.

RingRing growled and her eyes started to water, "GARU! Get the FUCK away from that stupid bitch!"

He looked up at her and made a mad look on his face.

"NOW!" She screamed and stomped.

Garu lifted his middle finger at her.

People gasped and some snickered.

RingRing let her tears fall freely, dark streams of mascara and eyeliner started cascading down her face.

The school's security came pouring out of the doors and students started walking away, not wanting to get in trouble.

One of the security men asked sternly, "What the HELL happened here?!"

RingRing growled and defeatedly ran into the village.

Pucca turned around, and looked at the five security gaurds. Her eyes were welling up with tears.

Garu sighed.

The security woman stepped forward, "Care to tell us what happened, young man?"

He shook his head, "RingRing started it all."

"Well," the man said, "What did she do?"

The security gaurd looked at Pucca's face, where the left cheek was swollen and purple.

He pointed at Pucca's cheek, "Was she the one responsible for your injury, miss?"

Pucca nodded and sniffled.

The security gaurds nodded at each other and asked for their names.

"Alright, Pucca, you should go home and get your injury checked at the hospital. We'll give your teachers a note." The security woman told her right before they went back in the school.

Students that were watching walked up the stairs to talk to the two.

A girl with straight black hair and bangs approached them, "Wow, Pucca you looked really mad..."

Pucca nodded, "Yeah, I guess. I need to go home..."

"I hope you get better." She told her calmly.

"Thanks..."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°° Pucca lied in bed, listening to her favorite songs just like yesterday, except the left side of her face ached in pain.

She checked the time on her alarm clock at the side of her bed, 3:02 pm.

'The students should be out by now.' She thought vaguely, 'I want to see Garu.'

Ching came rushing towards her in her mind.

'Oh, Pucca! I know I just came 10 minutes ago but I can't stop worrying about you!' She hugged her tightly.

'Don't worry. I'm fine... I want to see Garu though. I've been in this room alone for way too long. No offense.' Pucca replied back to her.

'Yeah...Oh, look! There he is!' Ching pointed to the window and Pucca sat up to look.

She smiled widely and jumped out of bed, forgetting about her painful bruise.

Garu sat down at his usual table.  
'I hope she's okay...' He thought to himself.

"Garu!" Pucca called as she ran excitedly to him. 'This is it...I hope he doesn't reject me...'

He smiled, "Hey. Are you alright? Does your face hurt or something?"

She took a seat across the table from him. "Yeah, I'm good. It hurts but you forget after a while. And so are you and RingRing officially over?"

He smirked, "Yup. It's awesome not having to carry her stuff around or acting like I love her."

She nodded, forgetting about what she was going to ask him.  
"Oh yeah," She stood up, "Are you gonna order anything?"

He nodded and Pucca came back with his food, much to other customers' dismay.

"That's not fair!"

"Where's our food?!"

"Just because he's your boyfriend doesn't mean he gets treated any differently than us as a customer!"

Garu blushed at that statement and looked over to Pucca, who was just as embarrassed as he was. She shook her head at him as if to say, "No..Just...no..."

"Guess I better go get THEIR food. Jeez..." She walked to the kitchen and came out with a giant stack of bowls on her head and another stack, holding them with both her hands.

Garu marvled at how talented she was and how well she could balance the bowls. It looked as if she didn't even try.

She sat back down and the doors of the Goh-Rong flew open.

A tan boy with black hair and no shirt on came sauntering inside, you could tell he worked out a lot. He looked around and turned his head her way-no, Garu's way.

As he came closer, the man looked about Garu's age and seemed to have a liking for Pucca already, smiling so confidently and having the look of a flirtatious lady's man.

"Hey, dude." The guy patted Garu's back. "Who's that?" He glanced over at Pucca.

Garu raised an eyebrow at her and smiled playfully.

She smiled back, "I'm Pucca. I'm new here. I just came a few days ago and started school yesterday."

He smirked at her, "Well then, I'm Abyo." he pulled a chair closer to her, "Are you single?"

Pucca blushed, "Uh..yeah." Him being shirtless did NOT make it easier for her.

Abyo looked at her, up and down.  
"You're hot...Wanna go out?"

Garu's eyes widened with Pucca's. Her jaw dropped and she turned to face him, only to slap his cheek.

People in the restaurant gasped and laughed.

"Ow.." He whined, touching the red hand mark on his face, "It was a compliment..."

"Well, here's some advice, don't EVER call a girl hot or sexy. Call her beautiful. Don't ask why. And don't just straight out ask her stuff like that. Especially to someone you barely know."

"Thanks, I guess..." He rubbed his cheek, "I'll see you later Garu...Gotta tend to my beautiful face..." He got up.

"And also, wear a shirt." Pucca told him as he left.

He gave her a pained thumbs up.

"Jeez, are you friends with that guy?" She rubbed her forehead.

"Yeah, actually, he's my best friend." He scratched the back of his head

"Garu..You have relationships with weird people. Including me..."

"I don't know. Things just happen. He's a good guy if you can get past his flirty, immature side. And you're not weird. Just...misunderstood I guess.." He shrugged.

She nodded and heard the kitchen door open.

"Pucca? What are you doing out of bed?" One of her uncles, Dumpling, walked up to her. "Who is this?"

"Garu. From my school." She answered vaguely.

"Hello.." Garu greeted.

"Well Garu, take care of my niece." He bowed to him.

"Umm..What is that supposed to mean?" Pucca's face became red in embarrassment.

"Whatever you want it to mean." He smiled and turned around to go back into the kitchen.

"Oh my God..." She whined, burying her face into her hands and she remembered.

The question...

"Hey Garu...?" She looked up at him with endearing eyes.

"Yeah?" He looked straight back at her and their eyes met.

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**Thank you for reading this chapter! Any suggestions on improving my story will be accepted, just be nice about it. Also, point out anything you didn't understand or something then I'll message you explaining whatever you need. Thank you! And reminder: I will recognize anyone who reviews!**


	3. Just a Peek

**A/N: Prepare yourselves**

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"Will you...umm..." Pucca gulped as her heart punched at her chest, "..be my best friend?" She gave a hopeful look on her face.

Garu chuckled and smiled, "Woah, you scared me for a second there...but sure!"

Pucca smiled and mentally fist pumped the air, but kept in mind what he meant when he said she 'scared him a little'.

"Thank you, Garu! Thank you thank you thank you!" She giggled in delight and that made Garu smile back and blush light red.

Just like that, Dada slipped and the dishes came crashing to the floor, which triggered a wave of loud, complaining voices.

Pucca shook her head, "I better go deal with this. You want anything?" She stood up.

Garu nodded, "Bring me...the best dish this fine restaurant can make..." He smiled at her, "I don't care how much it costs...just happy to help this restaurant pay for new dishes and stuff."

Pucca laughed, "Aww, how kind!" and she went off to help sweep up the mess her clumsy co-worker created.

Pucca stared at her bedroom ceiling.

'I got a friend. Hopefully I don't have to suffer through school anymore. And maybe he's the type to stand up for people.' Pucca smiled at the thought of Garu punching RingRing. Repeatedly. That dumb bitch deserves to be punched in the face by her ex.

'I just hope we don't get in serious trouble for what happened today. She started it...so Garu and I better NOT have a stupid, unfair consequence.'

Pucca thought some more, and the more she thought, the more things seemed unfair.

She just started school and right when she stepped into her first class, rumors and gossip spread around about her easily. Also, today was what, her third day of school and already she gets into a fight? Coincidence or something else?

Well, it doesn't matter anymore. She has a best friend, and he's awesome. Seems like she met him before. But nahh... She shrugged the feeling off.

Wait a minute...she just noticed. Garu. Garu... That name sounds so familiar now... It seemed as if the name rolled perfectly out of her mouth and that she was made to say that word. She began feeling that same feeling, the feeling that she wants more from him than friendship. But...she's just excited... Right?

Pucca breathed out carefully.

'Today is a new day... Today is a new day... Today is a new day...' She thought to herself, calmly.

The anxious little teen walked up the steps like the day before...and the day before...and pushed open the doors. As usual, the hall was easily filled with restless teens, rambling about their daily lives; over-exaggerating, complaining, over-looking their lives.

Pucca tried to dress more 'normal', as she wore her dark blue collared uniform but now, a red skirt.

She struggled finding her newly assigned locker and stood in front of it, analyzing the blue paint and every little bump of insignificant rust. Pucca carefully turned the combination lock, 34...36...14. She yanked it open to reveal an empty space to put her belongings in.

'How should I decorate it?' She asked herself.

'Pink and red ribbons, photographs, and prints!' Ching enthusiastically replied.

Pucca smiled and stacked two of her giant textbooks neatly into the tiny space.

She closed it and she looked to her left, where the doors were, and saw RingRing heading towards her with an angry look on her face.

"Look here, Pucca." She put her pointer finger on Pucca's chest and whispered, "You're gonna wish you died back in North Korea, you hear me?"

Pucca gave a blank face. RingRing growled and headed out the doors, knowing she would get in more trouble for being in school when the principle specifically told her that this was not 'in-school suspension'.

Garu came in from her right, hiding when RingRing came. "Hey, 'best friend'." He emphasized 'best friend' and smiled.

Her face immediately lit up, "Hey, Garu!"

"What's your first period?" he asked.

"Well, since today we have 4, 5, 6, I have Mr. Taguchi for Social Studies."

"And I believe we're in the same class." Garu added authentically.

"Hey, yeah! Almost forgot about that." She was eager to start this day.

Two thin girls with dark hair walked up to them with disgusted looks on their faces.

"Ew, Garu." The girl with the nametag that read, 'Mina Baricuatro' spoke, "Why are you talking to _her_ ?" Okay, scratch that part where Pucca was eager to start the day. She had a sassy tone that she did NOT like and she barely arrived at this school not even a week ago and already people disliked her.

"Yeah." The other girl whose nametag read, 'Demy-lynn Baxter' had a higher and softer voice, but they held as much sass as Mina did. Her skin was pale, like one of her parents were white and the other was asian. "She's a freak. Hang out with _us._" She reached over for Garu's arm and linked it with hers.

Mina went to his other arm and did the same, nuzzling into his long sleeve. Pucca's face flushed red in anger and jealousy.

"Let go of him. He doesn't even like you guys." Pucca tried sounding calm and normal.

"Please. Garu, you like us, don't you, honey?" Mina tried sounding sweet and tender.

Garu gave a weird look and shook his head. He slipped his arms out of their grasp and walked over to Pucca's side.

Demy-lynn scoffed, "What are you guys, dating?"

Pucca's mouth gaped open a little but she closed it, "No. Of course not. We're just friends." Hearing the words she always wanted to hear coming out of her mouth made her a little disappointed. But she didn't know why.

"Hah! Garu has you friend zoned!" Mina pointed at Pucca, laughing.

Garu sensed Pucca's frustration and hooked his arm around her back to pull her closer. She blushed.

"Leave her alone." He said, "You two barely know her."

Defeated, the two girls kept their silence and stuck their tongues out at Pucca before turning around to leave.

"Thanks, Garu." Pucca told him tiredly.

Garu let go of her, "No problem."

"Garu!" He and Pucca looked at the entrance and saw Abyo walking towards them. "What's up, dude? And what's with Mrs. Slappy-Face?" He gestured to her.

Pucca scowled.

"She's my friend. Obviously." Garu replied blandly.

Abyo nodded slowly, "Sure...well, anyways, Ching asked me out."

Pucca's eyes widened. 'Ching? What the hell...?!'

'I have no idea what he's talking about. But he IS kinda cute...aheh...' Ching replied sheepishly.

"Who's Ching?" Pucca asked the two.

"Uhh," Abyo answered, "Black hair, bangs, braids, chicken on her head."

Her mouth gaped open. 'The fuck...'

"Is there something wrong or...something?" Garu looked at her.

She closed her mouth and said slowly, "Nothing."

He nodded his head once.

"What did you say to her?" Garu asked.

Abyo scratched the back of his head, "I said yeah. I mean, she's special to me..." He shrugged.

"You better not hurt her. She's like a sister to me..."

'Pfft. You and me both...' Pucca thought.

The bell rang it's metallic sound that indicated 7:40 am, which meant that the students needed to go to their homerooms.

"Well, see you later Garu." Abyo went to go join the wave of kids.

"My homeroom is my English." Garu said, "What's your homeroom?"

They started walking to H143.

"Same homeroom. Same English. And same fourth period. Social Studies, Mr. Taguchi." She smiled.

"Cool. I think you're in my class for P.E., and science, too. The only subjects you're not in my class for is math and media. I think."

Pucca nodded, she wasn't FULLY used to her new best friend, but she knew she could trust him. "I...I have an imaginary friend named Ching."

They kept walking.

"Really? What a coincidence." He said, almost uninterested.

"But the thing is that she fits the exact same look Abyo told me. She has black hair with bangs and braids. AND she has the chicken on her head." She was getting scared for some unknown reason.

"Maybe she was a childhood friend then she left and you don't remember. I don't know about this kind of stuff." He shrugged, still sounding uninterested.

"Yeah...maybe..." She looked down at the ground, watching their synchronized steps.

Pucca was taking orders and her mind was half occupied on thinking about Garu. She wasn't able to find him after school and she still hasn't seen him come into the restaurant.

Where did he live?

Pucca hasn't thought of that before.

She rushed into the kitchen, forgetting that the customer was stating her order.

"Hey, do you guys know where Garu lives?" She asked her three uncles.

The telephone rang.

"Can you get that, Pucca?" Linguini asked, not stopping from his part of their process of making noodles.

She walked over to the telephone and took it off from the wall.

"Hello, this is the Goh-Rong. May I help you?"

"Pucca?" She heard a familiar male's voice. Garu!

"Yes?" She tried containing her excitement.

"Can I have a serving of jajangmyeon noodles, please? I don't really have an address so just follow the main road left and it'll come to a fork and you just go to the far left. You'll see my house." He spoke casually.

'He's always so calm...' Pucca thought.

"Okay, I'll be there as fast as I can." She tried to sound as bored as him.

"Alright, see you soon. And just to remind you, we have no school tomorrow."

"Yeah, bye." She clicked the phone back onto it's proper mount on the wall.

"Who was that?" Ho asked.

"Garu. He ordered noodles."

The chefs quickly finished the box of noodles and Pucca put it in her shining red scooter.

She started up the little red machine and as the engine ran, she sped to the left. As Garu said, she came to a fork on the road and pivoted her scooter to the thinner path on the left.

She started to become surrounded by the tall stalks of bamboo. Streaks of light bathed her path and she saw a tannish dojo up ahead.

'Why would Garu live in the forest?' She thought to herself.

The confused teen jumped off her scooter and grabbed the small take out box of noodles. She walked up the steps and pounded against the sliding door.

Garu sat cross-legged at the middle of the living room, stroking the black, silky soft fur of his loyal ninja cat, Mio. Hearing the door, he looked up from his cat's golden eyes and saw the silhouette of a slender form waiting.

'That should be Pucca.'

He walked up to the door and slid it open. Mio swiftly jumped onto his head and sat, flicking his tail at the sight of a new visitor.

"Hi, Garu. Here you go!" Pucca smiled and held out the box noodles for him to grab.

He returned the smile and took the box.

"Thanks. You can come inside...if you want to, that is. I have to get my money."

Pucca noticed a slight tint of pink form on his face.

"Okay." She followed Garu into his bedroom-at least she thought it was his bedroom. He slept on a futon...?

Garu walked over to a short table at the right of the door where his little black wallet lay.

"Why do you live at the middle of a forest? Where are your parents?" Pucca mentally smacked herself on the forehead. 'Stupid! Don't just blurt out questions like that!"

He opened his wallet and got out four thousand won. He set down his food on the table.

"Well, it's quiet here so I'll have an easier time meditating and training. And the parents thing...I don't live with them...They...I don't know where they are."

Pucca looked into his eyes. That's when she saw it. You know that saying, 'Eyes are windows to the soul'? She knew what it meant now. She saw the sadness and suffering in him. She saw him in his darkest times and saw the bright flames of determination and honor. She blinked.

Her mind went blank, struggling to process what she just saw.

Pucca didn't know why, but she slowly inched closer to him and looked into his dark, somber eyes again. She leaned in and Garu didn't know what to think. His mind was blank and he could just move in time with Pucca, slowly moving closer to her face.

* * *

**A/N: Another cliffhanger... **

**Also, the Ching you have heard from so far is Pucca's 'imaginary friend', yet she's real.**

**And sorry that this chapter was shorter.**

**And thank you once again Madam-Annabell for reviewing! Thank you BluePanda326 for reviewing too!**


	4. Just a Question

**Hello! I am gonna delete this story in a week due to the severeness of poo this story has. I need a more thought out plot and shorter chapters so my stories don't end so 'quickly'. Well, tell me if I shouldn't delete and whatever. Enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Pucca closed her eyes and Garu gulped.  
He moved in closer and spread out his arms to embrace her. He stuffed his face into the back of her head, the sad male could smell the sweet scent of her lavender shampoo. Mio jumped off of his head and curled up in a corner for a nap.

Pucca felt disappointed. She didn't know why she was moving closer to him. She didn't know what she wanted from him. But yet...she felt so disappointed... The conflicted girl hugged him back, squeezing her eyes shut.

He let go of her and suddenly connected his lips with hers.

She rested her arms around his neck and he slowly stroked her hips.

Her pulled away and avoided eye contact with her, "I...uh...sorry..." He stepped back and grabbed the hair at the back of his head nervously, looking down.

She realized what she wanted now. She wanted HIM.

'How could I be so stupid? How could I not know the feeling of love? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' Pucca groaned without opening her mouth and pouted.

"Garu, I feel the exact same way... I...I just never knew I did until now." Pucca forced out a hopeful smile to break the tension.

He tried to look at her and only managed to look at her face, but not into her eyes.

"Really?" He still wouldn't make eye contact and thought of what to say next. "I guess you're mad at me now. We barely knew each other for a week and already I kissed you..." He paused, "You must think I'm desperate...Things just happen so fast and...and..things happen when you have strong feelings for someone." He hesitated and mumbled, "Like how I feel for you.."

Pucca couldn't help it, she laughed softly. 'Why am I laughing?'

She closed the space between them and hugged him.

"I'm not mad. I think you're an amazing person. Like you said, we barely know each other but things happen when you like someone a lot." She smiled and picked up his hands so that they rest on her back.  
"It feels like I've known you forever."

Garu didn't know what to think or say. Things happen so fast. He just nodded and managed to smile.

"Look," She said, "I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow. Don't think about it too much, okay?" But Pucca knew SHE would think about it too much.

She leaned in to kiss his cheek and gave a weak smile before leaving.

Garu stood there, trying to process his emotions. He let himself drop to the floor on his back. It hurt, but not as much as his confusion pained him.

'Pucca still likes me. Pucca still likes me. She's great. She likes me back. Would she want to be my girlfriend? But I only really knew her for like 4 days.' He groaned and covered his eyes with a limp hand. 'Too awkward. I messed everything up. But why does it feel like I've known her for a long time?'

Pucca lied in bed, thinking. 'He likes me. But we barely knew each other for 4 days. Maybe it's a love at first sight thing. But I was just too stupid to notice it. I'm so dumb.' She felt that certain pang in her chest. She started aching for something.

Her eyes started watering, 'I was clean for a week. I don't want to start now...' She groaned and opened her dresser to dig in to the back of her clothing.  
The familiar silver shine greeted her sharply. She hesitated before grabbing the pristine razor.  
The conflicted girl stared at it hesitantly, 'I can't. I can't. I can't.'

She remembered where she got it. At her old school, people would make fun of her and leave her out. Accidentally knock her stuff down on purpose. No one liked her. Everyone made fun of her 'slit eyes' and told her that she was anorexic.

Pucca's tears started washing down her face like two waterfalls and she quickly set the blade onto her wrist, not caring if she cut a vein.

'Should I?'

Her memories taunted her but she slowly drifted back to Garu.

"He loves me. I love him. He'll protect me. He's brave and smart. He loves me." Her tears lessened and she walked to the bathroom, blade in hand.

The toilet sat there, waiting. She lifted her hand with the razor over it and let go. The shiny metal dunked into the water and drifted down to rest. And the girl felt loved. So she flushed her blade down to never be seen again.

Pucca tried to smile and looked at her arm. It was covered in thin white scars. She remembered. That one was when she cut a vein and had to go to the hospital. Those ones were when her mom died. Those ones were when her dad died. Those ones were when her uncle died. Tears threatened to overflow her eyelids.

But she let them fall freely.

Today is Friday. Pucca sighed and thought to herself, "Yes! No school tomorrow!"

She walked through the hall, which was busy, as usual, and went to her locker to put and remove supplies from her backpack.

"Hey, Pucca." She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around.

A smile formed on her face, "Hi, Garu! Aren't you happy it's Friday?" She truned to take out a text book from her back and placed it in her locker.

"Yeah... And about yesterday, sorry about that. Should've known better..." He slid slid his hand to the back of his head and lightly scratched.

She turned around, "Don't worry about it. I'm not mad. I like you, too." Pucca hesitated and thought. 'Am I ready? Do I really want him? I should save myself for a different time.'

They started walking to their homeroom.

"What should we do about it then? Just friends?"

Pucca could tell by his voice that he wanted to be her boyfriend.

'Oh, whatever. He's an awesome guy. I love him! A boyfriend is way better than a friend!' She thought to herself.

She waited for a few seconds before answering, "You want to be my boyfriend?"

'That was easier than I thought. I knew he wouldn't reject me. Besides, his break up with RingRing didn't take any toll on him.'

"Really?" He didn't really sound surprised, just happy.

"Yeah. I like you. You like me. I'm telling you, this is something special." Pucca certainly did not feel uncomfortable when talking to him

"Okay." He answered happily, wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her closer.

Pucca's heart started beating quicker. It did whenever he touched her.

"Garu...things happen so quickly between us. I'm scared." Pucca told him her thoughts out loud, but for only him to hear.

"Well, I don't think there's someone out there as amazing as you so I don't see myself apart from you anytime soon." He smiled.

All Pucca could think was how kind and cute he was. "Aww!"

He laughed softly, "I was always told I had good judgement, so yeah. I hope we stick together. Just get some space apart at the right time, fun, respect and we'll be just fine."

"Yeah, but let's not think about us splitting up right when we just started."

Garu nodded once and he opened their classroom door for her and she smiled.

"Look who it is." Pucca heard a girl whisper to another, "She punched RingRing but she didn't get suspended. Only RingRing got suspended."

Pucca sighed. 'People are so ignorant.' She sat down at the same chair as the first day of school. At the back. Garu came to her and sat on her desk, "Did you just hear that?" He whispered to her.

"What, those two girls?" Pucca whispered back, head-gesturing to the two light haired koreans.

"Yeah. Stupid, isn't it? They're telling stuff that aren't even true. You didn't punch RingRing. She punched you." He tried speaking so that no one else could hear their conversation.

Before Pucca could speak, the two girls walked up to them.

The one on the right, 'Shinja', spoke, "Garu, everyone is saying that you're going out with...her." She circled Pucca with her finger.

He looked at her and she looked back.

"Actually," Garu said as he turned back to face the two, "We are." He paused, "And she's wonderful." A small smile formed on his face.

The two girls shook their heads as if to say, "No, just no." They walked back to their seats in the front. Garu's seat was somewhere in the middle horizontal row, vertically closer to the left.

The bell rang and everyone dashed back to their seats, including Garu, who didn't have time to say anything.

The teacher came in, "Good morning class."

"Good morning, Mrs. Cho-yin." The class said in a monotonous, tired way.

"Today is Friday. That means longer other periods and shorter homeroom." She took two folders out from her bag and straightened some papers on her cramped, messy desk sitting at the very front of the room.

A lot of students groaned and some made unnecessary comments such as, "Friday should be 'Skip School' day." or "Friday, my ass."

Others giggled or snickered at those comments or at indistinct whispers Pucca couldn't quite hear or understand. 'These kids are stupid as hell...'

Pucca walked home alone, not being able to find Garu after school. She had to do the same things every single day.  
Wake up, school, go home, work, sleep.

It was only on certain days that she would be able to leave the restaurant at certain times; when business was fairly slow and Dada seemed to be able to handle it. Pucca was left alone to her thoughts again. 'Deja vu. This is like my first day of school.'

"Hey Pucca!" She heard a very familiar voice calling for her. She stopped walking.

'Ching?' She called out for her imaginary friend.

Before her imaginary friend could answer, Pucca felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hi."

She looked at the girl smiling next to her, "What the fu-"

"You don't remember me?" She started, "Ching, when you lived back in the north." She spread her arms out to show herself to the confused girl.

'Ching?' Pucca tried calling her imaginary friend, but she recieved no answer.

"Well, your memory is probably foggy but I remember you made a promise to me." Ching stepped closer but it was a still a comfortable distance.

"What was it..?" She asked slowly.

"You promised me that you would keep me in your mind forever and think about me a lot." She smiled warmly.

'OOOOHHHH! That explains A LOT.' Pucca mentally punched herself in the head in disbelief.

"I..." Pucca stared distantly at her face and shook her head. "I remember."

She lied. She now knows why Ching was her imaginary friend. She was real. But she doesn't remember anything about the promise or her time with her.

Ching clapped her hands lightly in contentment, "Awesome. How about we get to the restaurant and talk? I've seen you and Garu together a lot lately." She started walking beside Pucca. "Is something up between you two?"

"Uhh..Yeah, actually. I don't really want to go into detail though. Too personal."

Ching nodded, "I understand. But still! You're going out with the most popular guy in school! All of his frends avoid you because of what happened yesterday."

Pucca sighed, "I'm here for only 5 days and already people have all kinds of rumors about me. It sucks. No one likes me."

"Nuh-uh. I like you. And Garu. You only met him on your first day and already you two are dating!"

She considered this for a moment, "I..I guess you're right. Heh..." Pucca smiled and laughed lightly.

They walked in silence for a while and as they walked up the steps of the resraurant, Ching told her, "You can find Garu training at the Turtle Training Hall. It's my house, too." She smiled and opened the doors for them to go in.

Pucca looked up and looked to where Garu usually sat. 'He's there.' Pucca smiled and grabbed Ching's wrist to lead her to Garu.

They sat down and she gazed upon Garu's handsome face.

"Heyyy." Pucca greeted.

"Hi, Garu." The weirdo with the chicken greeted.

He nodded a hello to the two.

After a few seconds of silence , Ching blurted out, "Sooo. Pucca. Did he pop your cherry?"

Her mouth dropped open and Garu blushed a deep red.

Pucca shook her head slowly with her jaw still dropped, "No...no...no... He didn't." She turned her head to face Ching, "Why?"

Ching shrugged casually, "Just wondering."

Garu all the while was having a mental converstation with himself, 'Why would she ask that? Would Pucca lose her virginity to me anyway? Does Pucca love me that much?'

"Garu thinks you're weird now, I bet. Like, 'Seriously, Ching? After years of knowing you, you ask me the last question I thought you would ask?'." Pucca told her.

And indeed, she was correct.

* * *

**In the other chapter, I think the 2nd, Ring-Ring was crying because she was getting frustrated that Garu wasn't 'obeying' her and that he disrespected her.**


End file.
